Michail Anagnostakos (, 1878 – 1913), better known under the

nom de guerre A ''nom de guerre'' (, 'war name') is a pseudonym chosen by someone to use when they are involved in a particular activity, especially fighting in a war. In Ancien régime, ''ancien régime'' Kingdom of France, France it would be adopted by each n ...

Kapetan Matapas () was a

Hellenic Army The Hellenic Army (, sometimes abbreviated as ΕΣ), formed in 1828, is the army, land force of Greece. The term Names of the Greeks, '' Hellenic'' is the endogenous synonym for ''Greek''. The Hellenic Army is the largest of the three branches ...

officer and chieftain of the

Macedonian Struggle The Macedonian Struggle was a series of social, political, cultural and military conflicts that were mainly fought between Greek and Bulgarian subjects who lived in Ottoman Macedonia between 1893 and 1912. From 1904 to 1908 the conflict was p ...

Biography

Anagnostakos was born in 1878 in Charia near

Areopoli Areopoli (; before 1912 , ) is a town on the Mani Peninsula, Laconia, Greece. The word ''Areopoli'', which means "city of Ares", the Greek mythology, ancient Greek god of war, became the official name in 1912. It was the seat of Oitylo municipal ...

in the

Mani Peninsula The Mani Peninsula (), also long known by its medieval name Maina or Maïna (), is a geographical and cultural region in the Peloponnese of Southern Greece and home to the Maniots (), who claim descent from the ancient Spartans. The capital ci ...

. He studied at the School of Philosophy at the

University of Athens The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA; , ''Ethnikó kai Kapodistriakó Panepistímio Athinón''), usually referred to simply as the University of Athens (UoA), is a public university in Athens, Greece, with various campuses alo ...

. At the same time he followed a military careerΣυλλογικό έργο, ''Μουσείο Μακεδονικού Αγώνα 13 - Η ελληνική αντεπίθεση στη Μακεδονία (1905-1906) - 100 έγγραφα από το αρχείο του Υπουργείου Εξωτερικών της Ελλάδος'', Μουσείο Μακεδονικού Αγώνα, Θεσσαλονίκη 1997, p. 179 - 180. having in 1905 the rank of ensign of

artillery Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...

. During the spring of 1905 he went to

Macedonia Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...

as leader to a small armed group of 15 men that would be responsible for the area of Langadas. Anagnostakos and his men disembarked from a sailboat at Potidaia in

Chalkidiki Chalkidiki (; , alternatively Halkidiki), also known as Chalcidice, is a peninsula and regional unit of Greece, part of the region of Central Macedonia, in the geographic region of Macedonia in Northern Greece. The autonomous Mount Athos reg ...

on 22 April 1905.Παύλος Λ. Τσάμης, 1975, p. 295 - 296. Anagnostakos' force settled in the area of Melissochori with the objective of controlling the route between

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area) and the capital cit ...

and Gevgeli and also to face the agents of the Bulgarian revolutionary committee in the area. However this band failed to make any important operations because Anagnostakos injured his leg and settled temporarily in the monastery of Archangelos in Goumenissa pretending to be a monk. Matapas-Gogos-Stibinos

From December 1905 until February 1906 Anagnostakos acted as an agent in the areas of Goumenissa and

Almopia Almopia (), or Enotia (Greek: Ενωτία), also known in the Middle Ages as Moglena (Greek: Μογλενά, Macedonian and Bulgarian: Меглен or Мъглен), is a municipality and a former province (επαρχία) of the Pella regional ...

. From March to October 1906 he was in Giannitsa Lake as deputy chief of an armed band, having his base at a hut in Trichovitsa. During the summer of 1906 he took part in the attack that led to the death of the Bulgarian komitadji Stergios Vlachos. At the end of the year, he took charge of an armed band in

Mount Olympus Mount Olympus (, , ) is an extensive massif near the Thermaic Gulf of the Aegean Sea, located on the border between Thessaly and Macedonia (Greece), Macedonia, between the regional units of Larissa (regional unit), Larissa and Pieria (regional ...

. and managed, until his retirement from Macedonia in October 1907, to conduct significant strikes against Bulgarian and Romanian agents in the areas of Olympus and Pieria, while defeating many local bandits. Although after the end of the Macedonian Struggle Anagnostakos retired due to his bad health because of the hardships and privations he suffered, he returned voluntarily to the army during the

Balkan Wars The Balkan Wars were two conflicts that took place in the Balkans, Balkan states in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan states of Kingdom of Greece (Glücksburg), Greece, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia, Kingdom of Montenegro, M ...

as a lieutenant.Mani.org: Michail Anagnostakos - Capetan Matapas
(Greek) He became chief of scouts in Pieria, along with Alexandros Zannas, and he caused the commander of the 7th Infantry Division, Kleomenis Kleomenous, to expedite the liberation of

Katerini Katerini (, ''Kateríni'', ) is a city and municipality in northern Greece, the capital city of Regional Unit of Piera in Central Macedonia, Greece. It lies on the Pierian plain, between Mount Olympus and the Thermaikos Gulf, at an altitude ...

, which happened on 16 October 1912. He was killed in June 1913 during the Battle of Lachanas.

References

Bibliography

*Παύλος Λ. Τσάμης, ''Μακεδονικός Αγών'', ΕΜΣ, Θεσσαλονίκη 1975. *Συλλογικό έργο, ''Μουσείο Μακεδονικού Αγώνα 13 - Η ελληνική αντεπίθεση στη Μακεδονία (1905-1906) - 100 έγγραφα από το αρχείο του Υπουργείου Εξωτερικών της Ελλάδος'', Μουσείο Μακεδονικού Αγώνα, Θεσσαλονίκη 1997.

External links

Mani.org: Michail Anagnostakos - Capetan Matapas
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anagnostakos, Michail 1878 births 1913 deaths Hellenic Army officers Greek military personnel killed in action People from East Mani Greek military personnel of the Balkan Wars Eastern Orthodox monks Greek military personnel of the Macedonian Struggle